Addressing Legal Contradictions and Rights Gaps in the Governance of Sex Work in Bangladesh. Policy Brief

Abstract

This policy brief examines the fragmented and quasi-legal framework governing sex work in Bangladesh, where constitutional rights, criminal and administrative provisions, judicial recognition and policing practices operate according to different and sometimes contradictory logics. While sex work is not directly criminalised as an occupation, sex workers remain subject to indirect regulation through provisions relating to solicitation, public nuisance, trafficking, vagrancy and other forms of discretionary enforcement.

The brief highlights the resulting gap between formal rights and lived realities, including legal uncertainty, exposure to arbitrary enforcement, reduced access to justice, and social and economic exclusion. It also considers the limited practical effect of judicial recognition of sex work as a lawful occupation in the absence of comprehensive legislative reform. Drawing on the findings of the related research, the brief proposes recommendations for Parliament and lawmakers, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and human rights and oversight institutions, with particular emphasis on distinguishing consensual adult sex work from trafficking and exploitation and strengthening safeguards against arbitrary enforcement.

The policy brief was produced within the framework of the Global Campus Alumni Cross-Regional Projects 2025–2026, in partnership with Right Livelihood.